It seems like some life pages have a theme woven through them.  Other pages appear to be a random collection of events — at least until you can look back on the entire story.  The practice of writing out a page for each day has at times helped me to see the bigger picture of the story.  Today’s page had its usual work tasks along with a variety of surprises.  Not bad surprises which sometimes have a way of showing up, but just unexpected things that kept me from setting cruise control for the day.  

These are usually productive surprises because they require I stay focused and pay attention rather than go through the day on automatic pilot.  After the morning cleaning and building prep, I had some good ministry discussions that had not been planned by anyone but God.  As the day went along, I continued work on the next week’s worth of daily devotions for the series I am writing.  Each devotion that I worked on focused on a different aspect of how God wants us to serve with excellence.  As I wrote questions and devotional thoughts for each day, I thought about how easy it is to coast, even as we serve, if we are not focused on serving in all ways with excellence as if we are serving God Himself — because we are!

Following a late afternoon dentist appointment I headed to the river with my family for a 3 mile walk along the beautiful riverwalk path in Mishawaka, Indiana.  In keeping with the “hidden” theme of the day, my eye and then my camera would notice things that the crowds appeared to be walking right by with no idea of what was near.  The beauty of some early crocus breaking through the ground with a vibrant yellow blossom about to open.  A dove quietly perched in a tree.  A raccoon peering out from a hollowed area of a tree.  All were reminders of God’s creativity and the beauty He surrounds us with daily if we were to pay attention.  

As I reflect on the day, I realize once again that nothing catches God by surprise.  I may experience surprises that are both good and bad, but He already knows how they can be used to benefit the kingdom and my growth.  The pleasant surprised remind me of God’s love and how He wants to bless my life in ways that allow Him to be seen more clearly.  The unpleasant surprises are reminders of God’s care as He continually carries me through the heartaches and disappointments in ways that all Him to be seen more clearly.  Either way, His goal and purpose is for me to live in such a way that people will see my good works and glorify my Father who is in heaven.  The surprises make me look to Him when my focus begins to drift away from the One who calls me to Himself as His child.

I pray that you and I pay attention to the surprises of life regardless of whether they are of a nature we like.  I pray that we would turn to God in the midst of life’s surprises so that He is seen in the way we live through them.  I pray that we would pay more attention to the lessons God desires for us to learn each day.

Page 67 is a Monday so it was up early and in to work to clean and get the building ready to start the school week.  As I went about my early morning work, I could once again hear the cardinals singing outside in the darkness.  As I took the trash out, the eastern tree line was beginning to light up with the waking of the sun.  Back inside I went to grab my camera to record some of the morning beauty in both still photos and a couple videos that would also capture the sounds of the early morning birds.

By the time I got around to spending time with God in putting together the prayer guide for next week, I think the singing birds were still in my mind as I went with the topic of “Sing a New Song”.  As I spent time with God and His Word, I was reminded of just how much music was involved in the daily worship of God.  I fear many Christians view the songs they sing in a church service as being worship and all other music they sing and listen to outside of a church setting is entertainment and has nothing to do with God or worship.  I believe that a Biblical approach is to live life in such a way that all we do, whether musically or not, is presented to God as our life of worship.  As I watched the sunrise and heard the birds singing, it was easy for me to imagine a song of worship being presented before God.  I wondered, though, if the birds were observing me as I watched the sunrise would they imagine what I was doing being worship presented to God?

What if you and I would see our life as a song?  What genre would it be classified as?  Would it be approved for all audiences or would we find a label attached warning that we were for “mature” audiences only?   Would it be easy to classify or filled with such extremes that no one would be real sure what we stood for?  Would we be pleased to offer the entire “song” to God as worship or would we attempt to hide part of it from Him?  When we sing a new song, we sing a song of consistency that communicates the message of Christ no matter what we are doing.  When we lose consistency, our message becomes confusing.  James asks, “Can fresh water and salt water come from the same spring?”.  The implied answer is, “Of course not!”  His desire is that we would recognize that cursing and praise have no place in coming from the same mouth . . . or the same social media account.

I pray that you and I would recognize God’s beauty and presence throughout each day as you learn to sing a new song that give praise to Him at all times.  I pray that we would speak, write, post, and live with a consistency that leaves no doubt about Who is center to our life to those listening and watching.  I pray that we would examine the details of the song of our life and seek to make every note of it be praise of the God we serve.

Winter took its time in arriving but now it seems like it just doesn’t want to let go.  With light snow overnight again, it was in to work early to make sure the sidewalks were in good shape for the day.  While the temperature dropping into the teens made for a chilly start to the outside work, the cardinals were awake early and the sound of their morning song added to the beauty of the crisp snow-covered ground.  While it was still too dark to see them, their songs filled the air.  

After the early morning inside and outside work was completed, my IT hat was needed for a short time as a class was having trouble connecting to the internet.  Eventually I was able to settle in with my writing hat and continue work on the “Devotions For Those Who Serve” series.  By mid-afternoon I had another week of devotions written and needed a break so I headed down to Potato Creek once again to take a couple mile hike before returning to work to clean the building for the weekend.  The hike was peaceful and before returning to my truck I started down to the lake to see if any of the eagles were nearby.  On my way there, I could hear the sound of something nearby.  After tracking the sound, I discovered a squirrel happily munching on a walnut with no apparent concern that I was watching it.  As I’m snapping some photos of it, out of the corner of my eye I see one of the eagles take off from a nearby tree and head into the distance.  While I missed this opportunity to photograph the eagle again, I did get some close-ups of the squirrel.  It made me start to think about how I decide if something is a distraction or simply a re-direction.

I eventually made it back to work and as I cleaned the building slowly cleared out and I finished my workday cleaning and praying in the peaceful quietness of an empty building.  This gave me time to reflect on the day and on the lessons God has been trying to teach me.  Sometimes I get so busy with the tasks at hand that it is easy to miss the beauty that God surrounds me with.  The sounds of the early morning cardinals were just the beginning of their presence throughout my day.  As I worked, they would perch outside my window and sing their songs that filled the air with joy.  Not only is it important that I pay attention to the beauty of God’s presence, I also need to keep focused on Him.  It is easy to get so focused on what I want that God’s attempts to redirect me into His will can seem like an unwanted distraction.  On the other hand, the things that I allow to redirect me could actually be distractions to keep me from pursuing God’s best for my life.  The only real way to know is to constantly seek God and listen for His voice as the voice of my Shepherd that I recognize because it is familiar and filled with love for me.

I pray that you and I would always be mindful of the beauty of God’s presence that He continually reveals to us.  I pray that we would spend so much time with God through prayer and His Word that we would know the difference between the distractions of the enemy and the redirection of God.

My snow removal work from yesterday held up and all the sidewalks and entryways were in good shape when I arrived at work this morning.  My plan was to take care of the things at work that needed my attention in the morning and then take a break for a while before returning for a late night of cleaning and getting the building ready for the weekend.  As I worked on formatting my weekly prayer guide email and blog post, I was called to the office to take care of some networking issues as a computer wasn’t wanting to talk to the printer.  After a couple other interruptions, I finished the work I had started on but before heading out for the afternoon I got sidetracked with the second weekly collection of daily devotions I am working on.  As I wrote, I would grab chips and chocolate out of my desk to munch on to hold me over until I would go get lunch.  As I sat at my desk typing, the birds began to appear in the trees outside my window so I periodically pause from my writing long enough to take photos.  

As I finished day seven of the devotional booklet I was working at writing, I realized the afternoon had gotten away from me and the building would soon be empty enough that I could start cleaning.  After a quick sandwich so I had something to eat besides junk food all day, I began cleaning and spending time with God reflecting on the day.  I thought about the networking issues and how sometimes we seem to get our connections messed up to the point that it feels like communication with God is impossible.  The good news is that it doesn’t take a network specialist to resolve the conflicts that are blocking communication.  It simply takes us humbling ourselves and spending the time to seek God with our entire being as we go to Him in prayer.  

I thought about the variety of birds, and eventually a few deer, that gathered outside my window throughout the day.  So many unique representations of God’s creativity in the wildlife realm that caught my eye and made me wonder if I value the unique representations of God’s creativity when it is present in the people around me.  And then I thought about this series of booklets I am working on.  The one that I wrote today contains seven daily devotions focused on different aspects of serving with contentment.  As I mopped floors and prayed tonight, God reminded me of the times when I’ve served grudgingly with little or no contentment.  He reminded me of the joy that is present when serving others is done with contentment.  He called me to examine my motives in choosing the who, how, where, and why I serve.  Most of all, He encouraged me to keep serving Him as I serve others through the writings He gives me.

I pray that you and I would pay attention to the many lessons that God tries to teach us each day.  I pray for the wisdom to understand the life lessons that He wants me to learn through the interactions He knows I will have throughout a day.  I pray for the courage to honestly share with others in a way that helps them see the lessons God wants them to learn.

The photo on today’s page was a tough choice but I’m going with one that may require a second look.  My count finds ten birds in this photo but more than the number, I’m amazed at the different expressions and/or activity that that I notice as I look at each bird individually and then as a group.  I pray that you find joy in doing exactly what God has created for you to do and that you spend all the time necessary with Him to figure out what that is.

Page 55 began with an unsettled night for some reason.  Fortunately, part of the cleaning had been done yesterday afternoon so I caught an extra half-hour of sleep before heading in to finish the building prep for the day and check on some door security issues.  The weather guys had been calling for a winter storm so I wasn’t real sure what I would wake up to.  The storm hadn’t arrived yet and the light of the moon filled the sky with a hazy glow behind a light cloud cover.  After I picked up the trash to take out, I was told the school was on a two-hour delay with the potential of being closed for the day.  I was already at work and mid-way through my early morning tasks, so I kept at it.  After the normal tasks of my morning routine, I went out to service the snowblower and make sure it was ready should it be needed.  When I came out of the garage, the snow had begun falling lightly.  Throughout the day it has kept coming and by late evening added up to around six inches of snowfall with no signs of stopping anytime soon.

While an accumulating snowfall creates additional work, the sheer beauty of it is hard to miss.  When my primary tasks were done, I spent some time in the office confirming my registration for next week’s CCCA conference vendor fair and doing some writing in preparation for that.  At first the snow was melting as it hit the ground and the only evidence of it was the coating it left on the trees.  As it kept falling, it slowly began to accumulate on the ground, first with a frosty coating and then eventually covering up all traces of the dormant grass.  The scene reminded me of the hymn which states, “Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.”  As the day progressed the dull, drab look of the ground and woods was transformed into a gleaming white snow globe scene.  God has the ability and desire to change the dull, drab, sin-stained existence of my life into a life of sparkling purity as His child.  God did the work through the blood of His Son, Jesus, to make me whiter than snow and He does the work to keep me whiter than snow.  But that doesn’t mean there is no effort required on my part.  I continue to “work out my salvation” with a full commitment to living a life of obedient faithfulness.  I take a stand to resist the devil and throw off the temptations and sins that seek to entrap me.  Yet even the work I do is not of myself, rather it is accomplished through the power of God’s Spirit living in me.

I pray that you and I would live daily in the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus.  I pray that we would make every effort to be found faithful when Jesus returns.  I pray that we would appreciate the beauty that God surrounds us with in creation and in the people around us.

I find myself often waking up just before the alarm would go off to start the day.  Sometimes I look at the clock and think I’ll get another 10 – 15 minutes of sleep and other times I get right up and get ready for work.  Most of the time I find that I am more alert through the day if I don’t try to get those few extra minutes of sleep after I’m already awake.  Today I got right up and went in to work where I could spend time with God in prayer as I cleaned the building for the day.  When I took the trash out, the full moon was beginning to set in the west as the sun was making its way up over the eastern horizon.  So back inside to grab my camera to capture and share some of the beauty God was allowing me to see.

As I watched the moon settling into the tree line on the west edge of the property, it reminded me of a ball stuck in the branches.  There is something comforting about the routines that are found in life and creation.  From one night to the next, it is difficult to see much difference in the moon and stars yet compare pictures taken a week or two apart and the changes are easy to see.  Sometimes I think we expect overnight changes in other people rather than accepting the slow and steady progress that we accept in ourselves.  God wants the transformation that He does in people to take hold and be permanent.  When we live each day a step and a time and make sure each step is in line with God’s Word, we build the patterns and habits of a godly life.  God’s Word teaches us that when we are convicted of the need to remove bad habits and sin from our life, we must replace it with things that are good and just.  When I put the effort into establishing a consistent lifestyle of prayer and worship, I find that they become natural parts of my daily life.  My interest in photography has helped me to not only capture, but to pay greater attention to the creative handiwork of God.  Keeping my eye open for a great photo helps me to see details of God’s work around me that I have spent a lot of years not noticing.

I pray that you and I would constantly evaluate our routines of life to see if they are drawing us closer to God or creating greater distance from Him.  I pray that we would deliberately add the things in our life that bear good fruit as we remove those things that destroy our witness.  I pray that we never lose sight of God’s presence and handiwork all around us each day.

Today was pest control day at work so it began a little earlier than what has become my “normal” early mornings.  After cleaning the building in preparation for the school day, I settled in to my usual Monday morning writing routine.  It is a routine that is filled with prayer and God’s Word as I work on the weekly prayer guide for the following week.  Depending on how much of the morning that takes, and if other needs come up, I also try to do some work on whatever current writing projects God has put in my mind to do.  Today was fun as I worked on a prayer guide with the focus of being redeemed and continued some work on the “Devotions For Those Who Serve” series.

As I worked, I could hear the birds singing their songs of worship outside my window.  Although today was seasonably cool, the warm temperatures over the weekend seemed to have brought with it an increase of birds wanting to sing their songs.  As I listened to them, I began to think about my worship of God.  Do I worship God because of His worth regardless of my circumstances or does my worship tend to reflect my perception of God’s goodness to me?  Am I content with the actual necessities of life when combined with God’s presence or do I complain when God doesn’t give me the things I think I need?  My interest in photography and nature constantly reminds me of God’s creativity and care for the things that are His.  This reminder is extremely useful as I realize that it is not just the birds and the flowers that belong to God and are cared for by Him, I belong to God and am cared for by Him.

Following work I stopped by Walmart to pick up two high gloss mounted photo art prints that I had done for the door prize drawings at the CCCA conference I will have an Impact Prayer Ministry display at next week.  These are photos of mine that were taken as part of my personal worship times over the past year.  I chose them for the conference because of the meaning they have to me as well as the appropriateness I feel they have for those involved in camp ministry.  The first is from an early morning kayak outing where I spent time with God watching the sunrise.  The scripture I put with it is a reminder that rest is God’s idea and plan for each of us.  The second is a close-up of a day lily and the tag on the back will reveal my title for the artwork to be, “Consider the Lily”.  The label will include the scripture reminder that we should consider the lily and how God’s clothing it with such beauty should serve as a reminder to us of His care for us as His children.  He says that we should not worry because He knows what we need.

I pray that  you and I would worship God with our songs and our life simply because He is worthy of all our worship.  I pray that we would rest securely in God’s love each day that we live, knowing that He is fully aware of our needs and He has the resources to meet them.